Impact Of Counselling Service In Reducing Examination Malpractice And Anxiety Among Secondary School Students In Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State

Impact Of Counselling Service In Reducing Examination Malpractice And Anxiety Among Secondary School Students In Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State
Abstract
This study was carried out to examine the impact of counselling service in reducing examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. The study was carried out to ascertain the causes of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State; investigate the implications of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, and ascertain the counseling strategies adopted for the reduction of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprise of students of selected secondary schools in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 200 respondents and 191 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables, and mean scores. While the hypotheses were tested using Chi-square statistical tool. The result of the findings reveals that the causes of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State includes; insufficient knowledge, inadequate preparation, lack of confidence, fear of failure, and poor study habit. The study also revealed that counseling services contribute significantly to the reduction of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school student. Therefore, it is recommended that guidance counselors should disseminate information regarding the dangers of examination malpractice and anxiety within and outside the school setting through orientation, seminars and youth organizations programmes. To mention but a few.
Table of Content
- Title Page
- Certification
- Dedication
- Acknowledgement
- Table of Content
- List of Tables
- Abstract
Chapter One:
Introduction
- 1.1 Background of the Study
- 1.2 Statement of the Problem
- 1.3 Objective of the Study
- 1.4 Research Questions
- 1.5 Research Hypothesis
- 1.6 Significance of the Study
- 1.7 Scope of the Study
- 1.8 Limitation of the Study
- 1.9 Definition of Terms
- 1.10 Organisations of the Study
Chapter Two:
Review of Literature
- 2.1 Conceptual Framework
- 2.2 Theoretical Framework
- 2.3 Empirical Review
Chapter Three:
Research Methodology
- 3.1 Research Design
- 3.2 Population of the Study
- 3.3 Sample Size Determination
- 3.4 Sample Size Selection Technique and Procedure
- 3.5 Research Instrument and Administration
- 3.6 Method of Data Collection
- 3.7 Method of Data Analysis
- 3.8 Validity of the Study
- 3.9 Reliability of the Study
- 3.10 Ethical Consideration
Chapter Four:
Data Presentation and Analysis
- 4.1 Data Presentation
- 4.2 Analysis of Data
- 4.3 Answering Research Questions
- 4.4 Test of Hypotheses
Chapter Five:
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
- 5.1 Summary
- 5.2 Conclusion
- 5.3 Recommendation
- References
- APPENDIX
- QUESTIONNAIRE
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Examination malpractice has been defined by various researchers. According to Atigbo cited by Egbo (2015), examination malpractice is an unlawful behaviours or activities engaged by students before, during and after examination in a bid to have personal advantage over their colleagues or mates who sat for the same examination. Nwokolo and Oguzie (2021) defined examination malpractice is defined as any act or behaviour by any person or group of persons before, during or after an examination targeted to influence positively the outcome of such examination. Afunugo and Umezulike (2017) see examination malpractice as in appropriate conducts by students during examination. Moreso, examination malpractice is defined as any kind of irrational behaviour exhibited by any person or group of persons before, during or after an examination which contravenes the rules and regulations governing the conducts of such examination (Oguzie, Oguzie, Nnadi, Mokwelu & Obi, 2019). In other words, examination malpractice is any act of omission or commission that undermines the ethics of examination by an individual or groups to earn a candidate an undue grade.
There are various forms of examination malpractices such as giraffe, impersonation, use of ICT, special centres, bringing in foreign and extraneous materials into examination hall, sale of examination papers, disorderliness in examination halls, forgery of results (Uzoigwe 2014; Nnam & Inah, 2015). Oguzie and Nwokolo (2021) observed that examination malpractice may come up in other forms such as bringing of un-authorized materials into the examination hall, collusion, swapping of answer booklets, examination score trading or assault on examination administrators. Many causes have been suspected as factors responsible for examination malpractice ranging from inadequate preparation for examination, lack of confidence as a result of inadequate preparation, fear or being labeled as a failure, poor teaching, parents support, craze for certificate, poor learning by students. (Akaranga & Ongong 2013; George Ukpong, 2013). According to Oguzie and Nwokolo (2021), overdependence on certificates as the major yardstick to measure students’ knowledge and competence may lead to overzealousness on the part of students and their parents to acquire certificates through corrupt means, thereby making them more predisposed to examination malpractice.
On the other hand, Test anxiety has been conceived as a state anxiety which has to do with a negative reaction towards examination either before or during the examination. In a heightened state, test anxiety leads to poor performance in academic achievement, poor self-concept, hopelessness and helplessness, low motivation and possible drop out from school. The process model of test anxiety which is one of the new models of text anxiety proposes that ‘test anxiety interferes with learning through deficiencies in encoding, organization, and storage in addition to the classic interpretation of retrieval failures’ (Cassady, 2004: 311). In this same vein, Arogundade (2012) has stressed that test anxiety is likely to lead to forgetting of important information necessary for passing the examination, alienation from parents or friends, and feelings of loss of control in a testing condition. This is to say that for high test anxious students, the information processing, storage, and retrieval are likely to be affected. There is the likelihood that when these processes are affected – which will definitely lead to lower academic achievement – the learner may likely begin to think of indulging in examination malpractices. Research has documented the impact of test anxiety on students’ academic achievement in which there was negative relationship between the two variables (Olatoye, 2009; Rana & Mahmood, 2010), (Arogundade, 2012), factors influencing text anxiety (Duraku, 2016), gender parity on test anxiety and academic achievement in which studies showed inconclusiveness with regard to gender (Obima, 2007; Mellanby & Zimdars, 2011). Also, certain psychological variables have been correlated with cheating in the school environment. Studies have demonstrated that hope was negatively related to cheating even when students’ test anxiety was controlled (Fellers, Davidson, Almstrom & Callahan, 2009); and grade orientation is strongly related to academic dishonesty (Rettinger & Jordan, 2005).
Meanwhile, guidance and counselling is one of the educational support services that was introduced to enhance all round development of the child educationally, vocational and psychologically. Research has suggested that many students engage in examination malpractices due to insufficient knowledge and anxiety (Alutu, 2006). This could be traced to inadequate preparation caused by poor teaching and learning, low self efficacy, fear of failing exams and high expectation of the society. These students need educational, vocational and personal social counselling services to enhance their learning process and boost their self efficacy using counselling strategies. Counselling strategies are ways counsellors use in modifying undesirable behaviours to desirable behaviours. The counselling strategies in enhancing learning process include inculcation of study habit to the learners, partnering with teachers to use effective teaching strategies to enhance students acquisition of knowledge, skills ideas, aiding students to prepare their personal time tables, guide students choice of subjects based on interest, abilities and aptitudes, form examination malpractices free club, guide parents and their children on choice of career and institutions based on interest, abilities and aptitudes; value reorientation for students and encourage students to imbibe hard work. All these strategies may enable students acquire sufficient knowledge, become confident to take exams with easiness and shun examination malpractice.
Unfortunately many schools in Nigeria do not have counsellors, where they have they are loaded with other school engagement that interfere with provision of needed counselling services that could have helped to reduce examination mal-practices. Hence cases of examination mal-practice abound in this study area with its consequences such as cancellation of result, discouragement of honest students from hardwork, low productivity, certificate racketeering, loss credibility, difficulty realizing potentials ,dismissal, moral decadence, expertise in bribery and corruption and low academic achievement. From this situation therefore, stem the problem of this study which is to examine the impact of counselling service in reducing examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
1.2 Statement of Problem
In recent time more than any other time in the history of this country, the prevalence of examination malpractices have assumed an alarming trend. The situation is so ugly that hardly you read newspapers, attend conference or go on internet without coming across issues rose on examination malpractices. The situation has also become so bad that our national and local mass media indirectly support and encourages examination malpractices by allowing people to advertise the phenomenon on the pages of their papers or radio and television (Nasiru, 2009).
The advertisement is in the form of school (mostly private) inviting students to come, write examination in their schools, and pass in one sitting. The question commonly asked here is how does one pass an examination by just registering and writing exams in the school? The possibility of such candidate or all those registered with the school, passing at a single sitting as advertise, is not that the entire students were so intelligent nor is it through training and hard work but the truth is through cheating. An investigation by THIS DAY revealed that certain secondary schools in Kebbi have become centre of excellence, where one can register for WAEC, NECO, or SSCE and determine the number of credits one wants, with full assurance that this will happen at the end of the day (Reuben, 2008). The truth is that so many schools in different part of the country are involved in this act. Hence such schools charged exorbitantly, tagged as ‘cooperation fees’ or ‘settlement fees’ in order to have surplus fund that will meet up the expenses of bribing external examiners or invigilators, as claimed by such school proprietors. According to Reuben (2008) that with the payment of stipulated amount, once question paper comes to such schools, it is solved by the teachers, quickly photocopied and distributed table by table to all the students that paid. In addition textbooks and any other relevant materials have free access into such exam hall.
Also it is in Nigeria that due to lawlessness, people go about freely discussing how they cheated or were helped to cheat in examination in their various centers. In some other examination centers answers are photocopied and given to students to copy free. The freedom has gone to the extent that some invigilators or their agents copy answers for candidate on the black board. Hence, you discover in recent time students with the support of their parents from public schools rush to such private schools to pay and register at the rate of twenty five thousand (N25, 000.00) to thirty thousand (N30, 000.00) instead of the official government rate of five thousand naira (N5, 000.00) to seven thousand Naira (N7, 000.00) charged by public schools (Reuben, 2008). These students also ignore the sponsorship offered to indigene students in public schools by most northern states government; simply because of their belief that such private centers provide automatic ticket for them to get the minimum of 5 credits and above including mathematics and English. Little wonder, therefore, that students with such a very good result find it extremely difficult to pass ordinary JAMB or post UME examinations in our various universities and polytechnics (Nasiru, 2009).
It is then obvious that examination malpractices and its management is complex. It is indeed complex because it has to do with managing inappropriate behavior that involves many interested groups within and outside the school. Counselling as a helping profession has the potential to change undesirable behaviours to desirable behaviours through its counselling strategies in terms of proactive or preventive measures Hence, this study tends to ascertain the impact of counselling service in reducing examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The broad objective of the study is to examine the impact of counselling service in reducing examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
Other specific objectives of the study are to:
- Ascertain the causes of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
- Investigate the implications of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
- Ascertain the impact of counseling on the reduction of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
1.4 Research Question
The study will be guided by the following questions;
- What are the causes of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State?
- What are the implications of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State?
- What is the impact of counseling on the reduction of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
- Ho: Counseling services does not contribute significantly to the reduction of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school student.
- Ha: Counseling services contribute significantly to the reduction of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school student.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The study analysis of the impact of counselling service in reducing examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students is hoped to be of great significance in many ways not only to the secondary school students in the research areas but to the nation and international community at large. This is possible through suggesting ways of restoring credibility of the examination in secondary schools in the country. It would also be of significant to the counsellor, teachers, religious leaders, legislators, curriculum experts, educational planners and parents through its findings and recommendation. The study will also be of great importance to external examination bodies at other levels of education such as the National Examination Council (NECO) West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and Joint Matriculation Board (JAMB) on various mechanisms of examination malpractices more especially now that the practice is becoming more rampant, sophisticated and varied. This is because students were exposed to cheating techniques not only through friends/peer group influence but, through professional programs on line (internet).
This study will also be of tremendous importance to religious leaders and preachers whose mission is to have honest and discipline society. This can be accomplished through inculcation of right attitude, values, and promotion of moral identity among Nigerian citizens more especially the youths who cheat during examinations and they are expected to be leaders of tomorrow. The study will also be of great significance to the state and federal ministries of education in understanding the origin, various agents’ causes and effects of examination malpractices in secondary schools.
The study would no doubt play a vital role in making the policy makers and legislators to acknowledge the risk and threat exhibited by students involved in examination malpractices and the perpetrators some time indiscipline parents, corrupt teachers and peer groups as alleges by culprits or invigilators. This will enable legislators not only revisiting the existing disciplinary measures but to insist that culprits are punished without fear or favor.
To student the research may bring about positive changes in their attitude to studies and examination, so that we have examination malpractices free society. It would also serve as an important source of related literatures for future researches which this work did not adequately covered.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The scope of the study borders on the impact of counselling service in reducing examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. Hence the study will be delimited to some selected secondary schools in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
Like in every human endeavour, the researcher encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. More so, the researcher simultaneously engaged in this study with other academic work. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced.
Moreover, the case study method utilized in the study posed some challenges to the investigator including the possibility of biases and poor judgment of issues. However, the investigator relied on respect for the general principles of procedures, justice, fairness, objectivity in observation and recording, and weighing of evidence to overcome the challenges.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Counselling:
An intervention is an orchestrated attempt by one or many people – usually family and friends – to get someone to seek professional help with an addiction or some kind of traumatic event or crisis, or other serious problem.
Guidance Counsellors:
A school counselor is a counselor and an educator who works in primary (elementary and middle) schools and/or secondary schools to provide academic, career, college access/affordability/admission, and social-emotional competencies to all students through a school counseling program.
Examination Malpractice:
Is an unlawful behaviours or activities engaged by students before, during and after examination in a bid to have personal advantage over their colleagues or mates who sat for the same examination.
Examination Anxiety:
Is a phenomenological, physiological and behavioral response that accompanies concern about possible negative consequences or failure on the examination or similar evaluative situation.
1.10 Organization of the Study
This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows.
- Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study.
- Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.
- Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.
- Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.
- Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.
Chapter Five
Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations:
5.1 Introduction
This chapter summarizes the findings on the impact of counselling service in reducing examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.
5.2 Summary of the Study
In this study, our focus was to examine the impact of counselling service in reducing examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. The study was specifically set to ascertain the causes of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State; investigate the implications of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, and ascertain the counseling strategies adopted for the reduction of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
The study adopted the survey research design and randomly enrolled participants in the study. A total of 191 responses were validated from the enrolled participants where all respondent are students of selected secondary schools in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.
5.3 Conclusions
In the light of the analysis carried out, the following conclusions were drawn.
- The causes of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State includes; insufficient knowledge, inadequate preparation, lack of confidence, fear of failure, and poor study habit.
- The implications of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State includes; discouragement of honest students from hard work, certificate racketeering, loss of credibility, moral decadence, and dismissal.
- The counseling strategies adopted for the reduction of examination malpractice and anxiety among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State includes; inculcation of study habit among students, guide students’ choice of subjects, value reorientation, desensitization of examination fear, expulsion, and cognitive behaviour therapy.
5.4 Recommendation
Based on the findings the researcher recommends that;
- Guidance counselors should disseminate information regarding the dangers of examination malpractice and anxiety within and outside the school setting through orientation, seminars and youth organizations programmes.
- Counsellors should synergies with teachers to teach students with effective teaching strategies that can guarantee effective learning with coverage of scheme of work.
- Counsellors should give a talk to the parents on the issue of examination mal practice concerning the consequences of examination malpractice to the candidates and society.
- Counsellors should be posted to schools to apply preventive strategies that could reduce the tendency to engage in examination malpractice.
- Counsellors should inculcate good study habit, encourage students to embark on group study and to desensitize students from examination malpractice.
- The government should deemphasize certificate acquisition but emphasize practical knowledge and skill acquisition.
- Finally the researchers advocate that government should promulgate a decree or policy to punish those who connive with students in carrying out this ugly act.

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